Penn station NYC, No Starbucks ?!

[+ quoththeraven]

If you had to use NYC Part Authority bus station in the 1960s and 1970s, the current Penn Station is a great place compared to the Port Authority. Late at night I frequently took the bus back to Fort Dix, New Jersey where I was stationed in 1967-68. The bus station in Saigan, Vietnam was safer.

 

I haven't been in it for awhile but last time I was there I would have said the same thing about Port Authority.

[AdamSmith]

I haven't been in it for awhile but last time I was there I would have said the same thing about Port Authority.

Now I think Port Authority is worlds improved from what it once was. Many bright shops, few street people except in the less visible upper nooks & crannies where travelers seldom need to go... (All this based on 2010-2011 when I lived nearby and walked through often.)

[Brian Kevin]

Oh...my.

 

 

 

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view5/3450147/surprised-woman-on-family-feud-o.gif

 

I'm going to nick name you troll Jock, u keep picking on me with memes and don't show your face. At this point I think your Berry White.

[samandtham]

Moot point, but there is a Starbucks at the Long Island Rail Road station, adjacent to Penn Station (coming into Penn Station from 33rd and 8th, take a left—if you see an Auntie Anne's to your left, you took the right one—and walk about 300 feet to the LIRR area).

 

I got stuck one time at the Penn Station because of a snow storm—I had to wait at the station until midnight to even find out whether or not the train I was supposed to take is coming. The place was quiet, almost hauntingly—a stark contrast to how it was just a few hours earlier.

 

I ended up checking in at a relatively cheap hotel nearby, but I could never forget how, well, out of character Penn Station was at that time.

[+ quoththeraven]

Now I think Port Authority is worlds improved from what it once was. Many bright shops, few street people except in the less visible upper nooks & crannies where travelers seldom need to go... (All this based on 2010-2011 when I lived nearby and walked through often.)

 

I was last in Port Authority in the early aughts, probably, so it well could be much improved. I'm just having a hard time picturing it.

[+ Charlie]

So does Robert Caro in his epic non-fiction book, "The Power Broker" about Robert Moses. It is one of the best books I have ever read. I hope to read "The Power Broker" at least once more.

 

I was assigned "The Power Broker" in a graduate political science class, and it was the most enlightening text I read in any course that whole year.

[+ Charlie]

My first serious sexual experience was with someone who picked me up in the Port Authority Terminal in 1960, so I think of it fondly.

[+ WilliamM]

Moot point, but there is a Starbucks at the Long Island Rail Road station, adjacent to Penn Station (coming into Penn Station from 33rd and 8th, take a left—if you see an Auntie Anne's to your left, you took the right one—and walk about 300 feet to the LIRR area).

 

Thanks for such specific directions. The Long Island Rail Road Station is confusing to me, but I only use it to travel to the U.S. Open.

[+ quoththeraven]

Thanks for such specific directions. The Long Island Rail Road Station is confusing to me, but I only use it to travel to the U.S. Open.

 

The LIRR terminal is in fact in Penn Station. It may be a remote area of Penn Station, but it's still Penn Station. The person I went to Penn Station to meet in May came in on the LIRR, and I went to the LIRR waiting room to find her. Of course, by the time I got there, she was in the main concourse by the Amtrak information booth. We exchanged a couple of phone calls (with crowd noise in the background) before I found her.

[+ WilliamM]

The LIRR terminal is in fact in Penn Station. It may be a remote area of Penn Station, but it's still Penn Station. The person I went to Penn Station to meet in May came in on the LIRR, and I went to the LIRR waiting room to find her. Of course, by the time I got there, she was in the main concourse by the Amtrak information booth. We exchanged a couple of phone calls (with crowd noise in the background) before I found her.

 

The Long Island Rail Railroad is below the Amtrak Station. I forgot that I also use the Long Island Railroad to visit an aunt and uncle who live in Port Washington. But, once or twice a year is still not enough for me to know the Lond Island Railroad Station very well. If it's the first or second time for anyone I suggested asking (and probably several times).

[samhexum]

[geoffk]

well back to the original topic, isnt there a dunkin donuts and there are various "delis' that are fine.. I for one can do without Starbucks.

[Islesguy]

well back to the original topic, isnt there a dunkin donuts and there are various "delis' that are fine.. I for one can do without Starbucks.

 

There are actually 3 Dunkins in Penn along with a plethora of different deli's and fast food places. There is also a gem of a raw bar & pub called Tracks at the end of the ticket windows in the LIRR section of the station.

[+ FreshFluff]

Thank gosh for that. But you really have to wonder-what were they thinking? I thought maybe the architecture experts of the time might have looked down on its Beaux-Arts Style. But apparently there was a big cry against demolition by many architects even though it wasn't their style. It was apparently driven mainly by money as the upkeep was too expensive.

 

Gman

 

Mad Men's take on the demolition of the old Penn Station. The guy sitting to Draper's right represents the group that wants to tear it down.